STUCK @ NVC for AP

[toddandhien 2]

I wonder what happens to the 4 month validity of this visa, all this time wasted, wouldn't it get too close to the expiration specially that this is not the end of the road?

The visa, once issued, is valid for six months, not four. The petition, once approved, is valid four months (start counting from your NOA2 date). However, it cannot and won't expire as long as it is being processed by (or just sitting at) USCIS, NVC or an Embassy. They'll just automatically extend it.

Example: our petition (NOA2) was going to expire on the 12th of April. We were stuck at NVC for 50-ish days and then, on top of that, rescheduled our interview from March 12th to April 8th. My visa is valid through Oct 7th.

You don't need to worry about your case expiration date - it won't expire. Once your visa is issued, it'll be valid for 6 months. Whenever, during that timeframe, you enter the US, your visa becomes invalid and you have 90 days to get done with your business (marrying/AOS-ing, leaving.. whatever rocks your boat!).

Good luck mikef, slujon, wasabi, Matt & Bing.... shouldn't be long for you guys now.... you're all in the home stretch for release!

Badgerella - we're certainly counting on what you're saying to be correct, that they automatically extend the validity of the NOA2 as long as it's delayed in THEIR hands (USCIS/NVC/DOS) beyond the 4 month period.

We had our NOA2 on Jan 14. We're coming up to the 4 month mark in 2 weeks, May 14.

We got out of NVC on March 13 but we're STILL!! stuck at Bangkok embassy waiting for an interview date. At this rate our "stuck at embassy to get an interview date" time is rivaling our "stuck AP@NVC" time. Pathetic. If I allowed myself to dwell on it I'd just get depressed and angry. So I try hard not to. Anyway, really hoping that they don't come back to tell us that our petition is expired because we've passed the May 14 date due to THEIR delays. That will make me explode.

Ron,

this is what is stated on the BKK embassy website in the K-1 section.

"The I-129F petition is valid for four months from the date of approval from USCIS. Consular officers can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate the petition) if it expires before the processing of the visa application is completed."

Similar statement on the HCM website and likely most all of them. Ours will expire 11 days before Hien's interview so I plan to have both of us sign and notarize new statements of intent to marry just in case so she can bring them to the interview.

[Badgerella 5]

We had new statements of intents to marry that we brought to the interview. First ones were sent with our petition and then we read somewhere around here that brand new ones should be brought to the embassy. Even one of the forms (forgot which one, though) asks for proof of engagement, which, we learned around here, again, is that particular letter.

[LUISH 0]

Good morning to all, I haven't been in here for a couple of weeks due to some personal problemas, but I want to let everyone know what goes on at NVC when someone gets stuck in there, first of all I now know this is because my sister just had her interview last thursday and the result was that they did not approve her boyfriend visa, eventhought to me seemed unfair but I will let you have your own opinions.....

To begin let me tell you that my sister's fiance is my girlfriend's brother, me and my girlfriend been together fot three years and last year during a visit my sister decided to go for a lipo surgery and this is when she met my brother in law, they've going out for a year. But there is a situation here, my sister is older than her boyfriend by 16 yrs., she is 49 and he is 33 or 34, im not sure......well this situation was a big problem at the interview, and yes I'm sure some of you guys are thinking that maybe this guy just wants to take advantage of her citizenship and get a free visa here to the states, well that's exactly what I thought at the begining, but after seeing their relationship, I know this guy is really in love with my sister, but no matter what at the end the visa was not approved. Now what I know about NVC and what they do while we are stuck in there is the following, I'm sure a lot of you had thought about it but had no prove....well, they check all your life (petitioners), they chek everything you have done in your life since very young, what high school you went to, college, if you ever been in jailed and the reason, even if it was for a day, if you were married,, for how long and what happened to your ex wife, if she was in jail, in other words everything about you, if you have children what's going on with their life's same thing if they 've been in jail, they know your financial situation, your jobs, and well also they know everything about your fiancee, or fiance, if they been married before, if they have any brother or sister if they parents had split and have new family and other kids, if they have been to jail, I mean they know everything about you....

My sister had to go thru a very long and ugly interview, same her boyfriend, my sister was twice at the window, and each interview lasted 45 minutes, they questioned her about everything and she was asked a lot of questions about me and my girl, at the end they told her that her fiance's visa was denied due to lack of evidence, but she had more than enough evidence, she had travel to see him 8 times in a yr., she had lot of pictures, phone calls, i mean half or less than this is most of the time enough to get approved, but not her, you know there like to set of questions, one for K-1 holders and other for marriage K-3, well, she was asked the marriage questionary, and there were questions like when and how was the last time they had made love, this is just an example , but there were questions about everything about their life and what they knew each other, and they both answered , maybe not knowing a couple of answers, but enough to be approved, now with this situation, me and my girl have and interview date on May 21 and I will be there , and Iknow we are going to be questioned the same way....the difference is that my girl had already had one visa apporved a couple of yrs ago, but due to her grandma's health she went back, second we have spent a lot of time knowing each other, (3 yr relationship), and last but not least we love each other and we are going to fight to get her visa approved,

So in conclusion, I just wanted to share my sister experience and what goes on at NVC ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING", I hope it helps clearing up doubts or belief, so just make sure your other half know about you and your past, same for you about them.....

BLESSINGS

LUISH

Edited May 4, 2009 by LUISH

[Y's_habibitk 2]

WOW Luish, Im sorry about your sister's situation. She should try to get them to hold the application there and demand another interview ASAP. As long as they havent yet sent the petiton back to the US with intent to deny, she may be able to interview again with a supervisor.

I do think the relation between you guys and your visa process might have alot to do with it. Thats just my feeling.

I think they generally look down upon immi relatives introducing their relatives to USC's. Did I say that right? Anyway, I have read that in many many places and unless its custom there(like an arranged marriage) it's suspect.

Best wishes to your sister and I hope she can get another interview before they send it back to the states.

So on the NVC tip... you are saying that they grilled her about things that were in her past? Things that are assumed to have been found during AP? Was she in AP at NVC?

I think I am confused about the link between her interview and your AP. I guess you mean since they asked questions about you and your fiance?

Whatever the case, Im sorry for the situation and I wish you a smoother interview

[LUISH 0]

WOW Luish, Im sorry about your sister's situation. She should try to get them to hold the application there and demand another interview ASAP. As long as they havent yet sent the petiton back to the US with intent to deny, she may be able to interview again with a supervisor.

I do think the relation between you guys and your visa process might have alot to do with it. Thats just my feeling.

I think they generally look down upon immi relatives introducing their relatives to USC's. Did I say that right? Anyway, I have read that in many many places and unless its custom there(like an arranged marriage) it's suspect.

Best wishes to your sister and I hope she can get another interview before they send it back to the states.

So on the NVC tip... you are saying that they grilled her about things that were in her past? Things that are assumed to have been found during AP? Was she in AP at NVC?

I think I am confused about the link between her interview and your AP. I guess you mean since they asked questions about you and your fiance?

Whatever the case, Im sorry for the situation and I wish you a smoother interview

Yes I forgot to say that spent 50 days on AP at NVC... and yes she is trying to get another interview right away..

Thanks

LUISH

[wasabi 4]

LUISH,

What you say is very worrisome but also what I expected. For me personally I married a Thai lady 5 years ago. We were only together a year and have been divorced for 4 years. I am curious if this is why I got stuck in AP. I did not expect to get married again but I decided to come to Thailand to study Thai language since I learned a lot while I was with my wife and saw no reason not to keep studying it. Well I met a girl from Laos while here who I have petitioned to marry after living with her for one year.

I am able to work remotely for my US based job so I have been waiting out the process with her here. I realize this is a position many people would like to be in but I am worried how it will look to the interviewer and if they will trust my job is stable and how many questions they will ask about my ex wife who went back to Thailand after we divorced. I don't have anything to hide but at the same time I hope I don't have to start answering too many questions about my life because in any situation the more you have to answer for yourself the more someone can trip you up. I'll be very glad when this whole thing is over. I did call this morning and sure enough I'm still in AP.

[scandal 951]

wasabi and all who are still stuck... hang in there... not long now, I'm sure of it!

I just wanted to add a cautionary note following Luish and wasabi's posts today.

NONE of us are inside NVC and able to assess what they're doing, or why.

Everyone of us here on VJ is just speculating on what AP means at the NVC. Who gets chosen. Why. What checks are done.

It's possible that some red flags are setting them off. And it's possible that they do an intense search through each of our personal histories and backgrounds, as Luish suggests. I really don't know.

I just think that before postings like that cause new people caught in this situation to panic and be overly concerned, we really just don't know.

On the contrary - much of the (anecdotal) evidence from those who have been through AP@NVC and gone on to have their interviews and get their visas (cdneh, Lisa, Badgerella, Luckie-Kookie, others....) is that once you're out of AP the consulate process is pretty much standard and no different than it would have been if the file had sailed right through NVC.

Good luck all!!

[LUISH 0]

wasabi and all who are still stuck... hang in there... not long now, I'm sure of it!

I just wanted to add a cautionary note following Luish and wasabi's posts today.

NONE of us are inside NVC and able to assess what they're doing, or why.

Everyone of us here on VJ is just speculating on what AP means at the NVC. Who gets chosen. Why. What checks are done.

It's possible that some red flags are setting them off. And it's possible that they do an intense search through each of our personal histories and backgrounds, as Luish suggests. I really don't know.

I just think that before postings like that cause new people caught in this situation to panic and be overly concerned, we really just don't know.

On the contrary - much of the (anecdotal) evidence from those who have been through AP@NVC and gone on to have their interviews and get their visas (cdneh, Lisa, Badgerella, Luckie-Kookie, others....) is that once you're out of AP the consulate process is pretty much standard and no different than it would have been if the file had sailed right through NVC.

Good luck all!!

Yes it's right what uscandual says about what exactly goes on at NVC, the reason for my post is to help you guys understand a little bit, and to be prepared just in case, you never know is something form your past when you were young is gonna pop up, but is better for your love to know about it... this way in case that person is askede about it, again at the end many people go to their interview with no problems at all, but in my sister case she was denied...

BLESSING

LUISH

[Badgerella 5]

Yes it's right what uscandual says about what exactly goes on at NVC, the reason for my post is to help you guys understand a little bit, and to be prepared just in case, you never know is something form your past when you were young is gonna pop up, but is better for your love to know about it... this way in case that person is askede about it, again at the end many people go to their interview with no problems at all, but in my sister case she was denied...

BLESSING

LUISH

I'm sorry to hear about your sister and I wish you luck with your interview.

However, as someone has already said, I am not too surprised that your sister's interview lasted considerably longer than many, if not most that I have read or heard about. It's been mentioned here more than once that couples who meet through relatives get (a lot) to deal with a lot more scrutiny. Add the fact that you and your sister had your petitions filed around the same time.... At the same time, while it doesn't become the official reason a visa is denied, a big(ger) age difference often raises a red flag, or, in other words, makes the interview longer, or the couple/applicant face a series of not-so-common questions.

From your original post, I failed to gather or recognize any connection between NVC/AP and the longer interview you talk about. Was your sister's petition in AP as well? Did they even mention it during the interview? Where do all these things about jail and previous marriages, etc, come from? I've heard others report questions that had to do with their previous spouses, but that makes sense, doesn't it? They, the COs, are allowed to ask anything, after all. If either side has ever been in jail, it will be recorded somewhere and therefore presented on the documents one submits along with the petition and/or the Embassy (I forget, I apologize, since these stages of the process are now behind us). People who have had these things happen to them are likely to be aware of their existence and would, or at least should be prepared to hear about it at the interview, as well.

I'll once more mention my 'experience' with NVC/AP (I say 'experience' because, considering the circumstances and how little we know about it, I haven't really experienced much, other than knowing the fact that our file was, for 50-ish days, stuck there, undergoing who-knows-what) - having had no problems at all with the wait, or the reasons we were 'stuck', during our interview, I'll once more say that many cases get stuck in AP at random. Any and all processes have some sort of a control process, too, and NVC/AP, in this case, would be one of them. I assume so, of course. At the same time, people with very common names, numerous previous marriages, immigration attempts (failed or successful), previous petitions, criminal records... they might end up there for a reason other than, say, my fiance and I did.

The two of us are only 5 years apart (I am, however, the older one), have not had any previous marriages, children, criminal records, our names are not so common at all, we have been living in the same cities since birth, etc. We're, pretty much, a random couple from, say, next door. Not miles and continents apart. Yet, they wanted to double and triple check us (or, which is also a possibility) our files just sat there at someone's desk for two months. We'll never know, and, more than likely, you won't either.

If you have time and are willing to do so, it'd be helpful and appreciated if you could explain your sister's sitatuon a bit better - just so any and all new and worried people wouldn't think that AP, in and of itself, means a visa denial, or an interview that's 'out of the ordinary'. What did they ask your sister and/or her fiance? Was AP mentioned? Etc.

Thank you in advance and, once more, good luck.

[Badgerella 5]

and there were questions like when and how was the last time they had made love, this is just an example

Also, no matter how hard I try, I can't wrap my head around this. For the life of me, I can't imagine any CO asking this type of a question, under any circumstances. My whatever common sense says that this particular question was added to the whole story either by your sister, or you, for.. a shocking purpose.

I'll be very, very surprised if I'm wrong.

[wasabi 4]

and there were questions like when and how was the last time they had made love, this is just an example

Also, no matter how hard I try, I can't wrap my head around this. For the life of me, I can't imagine any CO asking this type of a question, under any circumstances. My whatever common sense says that this particular question was added to the whole story either by your sister, or you, for.. a shocking purpose.

I'll be very, very surprised if I'm wrong.

I disagree. This is not uncommon at all if the interview doubts the validity of a relationship. They can and will ask all kinds of intimate details to assure you are telling the truth. Typically the husband and wife are put in separate rooms and asked the same questions. Then the answers are compared. This was in the movie 'Green Card' and is a real phenomenon.

However if your relationship is legit no matter how personal the questions may be you should be able to answer them.

** found this link

Edited May 4, 2009 by wasabi

[Y's_habibitk 2]

LUISH,

What you say is very worrisome but also what I expected. For me personally I married a Thai lady 5 years ago. We were only together a year and have been divorced for 4 years. I am curious if this is why I got stuck in AP. I did not expect to get married again but I decided to come to Thailand to study Thai language since I learned a lot while I was with my wife and saw no reason not to keep studying it. Well I met a girl from Laos while here who I have petitioned to marry after living with her for one year.

I am able to work remotely for my US based job so I have been waiting out the process with her here. I realize this is a position many people would like to be in but I am worried how it will look to the interviewer and if they will trust my job is stable and how many questions they will ask about my ex wife who went back to Thailand after we divorced. I don't have anything to hide but at the same time I hope I don't have to start answering too many questions about my life because in any situation the more you have to answer for yourself the more someone can trip you up. I'll be very glad when this whole thing is over. I did call this morning and sure enough I'm still in AP.

wasabi,

I dont know if this will help ease your mind or not, but there are many members here on VJ that are on their 2nd or sometimes 3rd "journey" and I see them approved withuot a hitch.

As long as everything was done the "right" way with your first wife; you should be just fine. Also, quite frankly the fact that you guys are/have been living together this whole time is evidence of the bonofides in and of itself. The only issue that the consulate should have with you living there is with your intent to move home and if you have a domicile(or are staking steps to get one) here or not.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Y's_habibitk

[Badgerella 5]

There are still countless questions they could ask in order to compare the answers and evaluate a relationship, that would contain no explicit details as a couple's sex life. AOS interview usually differs from any K visas, too. At most Embassies, the petitioners don't attend the interview and aren't questioned at all, even if they're 'around'.

[Y's_habibitk 2]

and there were questions like when and how was the last time they had made love, this is just an example

Also, no matter how hard I try, I can't wrap my head around this. For the life of me, I can't imagine any CO asking this type of a question, under any circumstances. My whatever common sense says that this particular question was added to the whole story either by your sister, or you, for.. a shocking purpose.

I'll be very, very surprised if I'm wrong.

It IS shocking since it isnt a AOS interview but....

They often use questions like that in my husbands country to "test" the husband. The correct "cultural" answer would be "none of your damn business" followed by some curse words and threats

I think they use it to judge if you are willing to toss aside your wifes honor for the sake of the visa.

One guy was actually asked what type of underwear his wife wore

[LUISH 0]

and there were questions like when and how was the last time they had made love, this is just an example

Also, no matter how hard I try, I can't wrap my head around this. For the life of me, I can't imagine any CO asking this type of a question, under any circumstances. My whatever common sense says that this particular question was added to the whole story either by your sister, or you, for.. a shocking purpose.

I'll be very, very surprised if I'm wrong.

I disagree. This is not uncommon at all if the interview doubts the validity of a relationship. They can and will ask all kinds of intimate details to assure you are telling the truth. Typically the husband and wife are put in separate rooms and asked the same questions. Then the answers are compared. This was in the movie 'Green Card' and is a real phenomenon.

However if your relationship is legit no matter how personal the questions may be you should be able to answer them.

** found this link

Yes my sister's petition spent 50 days stuck on AP at NVC. ( my petition was stuck for 35 days, and 30 the first time I filed in2007)

As you well know there are two types odf set questions for visas K-1 , and K-3 or marriage visa, my sister and her fiance were asked the second one,eventhough they are not married, the reason to this I assume is to what you say about relatives knowing other thru family references, and my sister going out with my brother in is one reason, second reason is age difference. Now a little info about my sister, she was married twice before, but was divorced a long time ago, and of course it would raise a red flag the fact that they met last yr, fell in love and then filled the petitions, my sister's last divorce was around 1990, and since them she is been involved in other relationships, but nothing that ended upin a marriage, the fact that there is distance between them, is the reason to had filled the petition.

Now about the questioning, yes they were asked questions about initmacy, when they had thier first encounter, when theyhad their last, what kind of underwear they both use, if there is any scars, or beauty marks intheir bodies, and if there is any partuclar one in a private area. About jail, too, if she had been in jailed before, this question was asked becuase of the existence of another woman name the same as her, (that woman was my first wife),also she was asked questions about both of her ex husbands, their criminal history, at the same time her boyfriend was asked about this and he knew about it. Al of this had to come out of the AP at NVC, since my sister did not about her ex husbands problems with the law, but had no idea about my first esx wife, (even me had noidea about this). Also her financial status was questioned, you all know that you don't say anything about your financial situation on any of the documents that are needed for the petition, and at the interview they knew about this, mysister and her fiance were prepared to answer all the questions since their relationship is a real one, this couple is one that tell each other verything about thier lives, hide nothing , they really know each other a lot, but me personally never expected the visa to be denied.

Hopefully this can help clarify certains things, but again my purpose of telling all of this is not to scare anyone stuck at AP / NVC, but prepared for questioning in case they feel is necessary.

This is for future refrence in case someone goes thru something similar.

Blessings

LUISH